Unforgotten
by lark lavroc
Summary: [Love Mode challenge fic]. This time, Kiichi's awake long enough to meet his saviour. [Tien Li, Kiichi, Haruomi].


_**Disclaimer**_: I don't own Love Mode or any of its characters. Shimizu Yuki does, and is an excellent owner too. ;)

_**Author's Notes**_: For the May challenge, which, um, I am late for. I did actually finish this before June, but RL got in the way and I didn't get it fixed in time...

I was initially going to do something else, but this popped up and well, I couldn't resist. I will get back to _The Web We Weave_—it's not abandoned, I swear—but it won't be any time in the present... I don't have much time to write these days. :/

Many thanks to mishiko-sensei for beta-ing even with the internet problems!

_Completed: 2 June 2007_

* * *

**Unforgotten**

Kiichi blinked, stared up at the dark night sky, and sighed. He flexed his right hand, wincing when the pain hit, but didn't stop. He needed to know how mobile he was, whether his right arm would help or hinder. Whether he could stand up without leaving a trail of blood.

_This was really getting old_, he thought, blinking again. One would assume being kidnapped didn't happen all that often—if one wasn't Kiichi, who had, for the fourth or fifth time been taken and held at gun point. He supposed it was better than knife point, which would have been much more difficult to grapple with, though Kiichi would like to know why his kidnappers even bothered when they were so incompetent.

He hummed tunelessly as he turned his head to the left, eyeing the unconscious body just two feet away. The gun lay next to him on the ground, the spoils of quick battle that had ended with Kiichi shot, _again_,and his incompetent kidnapper—who was obviously not a professional—knocked out cold. Shifting slightly, he picked up the gun with his good arm.

With Kiichi's luck, his unfortunate kidnapper might just wake up before help came, and Kiichi was not in any condition for anymore wrestling, not even if Haruomi was to show up and sexily rescue him. Well, he might, but Kiichi had a feeling Haruomi would be too distracted by kidnapper's bullet lodged in his arm to pay him the attention he deserved.

Sighing a little, Kiichi turned his head back up, still humming under his breath. It was taking longer than he'd expected for Haruomi or Reiji to come, and he was bored. Injured and bored, he amended, still staring up at the starless sky. When they came, he was going to have _words_ about this. Maybe plan a surprise or two for Reiji.

He was smiling, mind full of little angry Reijis, when the rumble of a car engine and the crunch of gravel interrupted his reverie. Tensing, he gripped the gun tighter just in case it wasn't Haruomi and Reiji.

When the car came close enough for Kiichi to see, he drew the gun closer and lightly curled his finger around the trigger. He didn't recognise the car, which meant this was either an accomplice or just an innocent bystander. Until he saw the driver, he was going to keep the gun safely by his side and ready to shoot should it turn out to be an accomplice. (And wouldn't it be just his luck if it was the crazy half-brother of his kidnapper out for revenge?).

Kiichi waited calmly, gun in one hand, arm ready to swing up and shoot if necessary while his injured arm was braced for more pain. He was hoping the recoil wouldn't be too bad—Kiichi didn't want to faint from blood loss like the last time. It was very anti-climactic to save Naoya-kun and nearly rescue himself only to have blood loss and unconsciousness ruin his heroics.

The engine stopped, and Kiichi became more alert, mind curiously taking in the details of the car; black and compact, just slim and sleek enough to hint at speed, but otherwise not flashy or showy. _Someone doesn't want to be noticed_, he thought, as he shifted slightly to get a better aim.

The door opened, and Kiichi thought he was prepared for anything—anyone.

He was wrong.

For a moment his breath caught in his throat, and he stared. He thought he was imagining things, that his wound was confusing his mind, making him hallucinate. But then, he breathed out and his mind cleared, and he knew exactly who was standing in front of him.

Silence reigned, but Kiichi didn't let it stay on the throne for long.

"Tien Li," he greeted, waving his uninjured hand which was loosely clasping the gun. "How are you?"

He got a blink and a disbelieving look in return. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Kiichi smiled and shrugged a little from the ground. "I'm doing fine. This happens a lot, as you already know."

There was a pause, before Tien Li quietly said, "Yeah. I know."

Kiichi watched curiously as Tien Li walked closer, knelt down, and gently slid an arm under Kiichi, lifting him up after checking to make sure he wasn't in pain. There was barely a jostle, and Tien Li's arms were warm and strong, cradling Kiichi as if he was something precious.

When Tien Li stood up fully, Kiichi's mouth curved slightly, and he laid his head on Tien Li's shoulder. "I'm impressed. That was very smooth."

Kiichi could feel the rumble of the words when Tien Li said, "Yeah. I've had practice."

"Oh?" Kiichi tilted his head up.

Tien Li looked back down at him, a strange expression flitting across his face.

"...yeah," Tien Li murmured, then turned his head forward again. He walked towards his car carefully, and Kiichi knew it was no coincidence that his arm was never jarred.

Amused, but not surprised, Kiichi leaned back, pressing his cheek in the warm junction between Tien Li's shoulder and neck.

"No elaboration? I'm not very impressed by that. You're losing the points you gained from the very sexy carrying," Kiichi teased, closing his eyes and breathing in Tien Li's scent. Gun oil and musk, cigarette smoke and the smell of fresh rain.

There was silence for a moment, but then Kiichi could feel Tien Li speaking again. "Once. A while ago." He paused. "Same situation."

Kiichi laughed lightly. "Another kidnapping? My, my...what a coincidence. I see you've taken to rescuing damsels in distress instead of being the one to _kidnap_ the damsels in distress."

Smiling, eyes still shut, he asked teasingly, "Who's the prettier damsel in distress?"

Still smiling, Kiichi curled closer in Tien Li's arms, nearly missing his next words.

"You," Tien Li said, voice low, arms protectively tight.

Kiichi knew it wasn't just an answer to the light-hearted question, knew it was the answer to another question Kiichi had avoided asking. He wondered what the proper response should be—_I'm glad, I'm flattered, I'm still a little bit in love with you_—and whether it would be best if he didn't say anything at all. In the end, he silently pressed his face closer against Tien Li's neck, gentle and soft, and hoped Tien Li understood.

They didn't speak until a few more steps had passed, when Tien Li said in an even lower voice, almost inaudible, "It was you."

Kiichi almost asked _it was me, what?_ Almost, except that he suddenly knew, the pieces fitting together to make a whole new picture. The failed robbery, the hostage situation, the rescue that came after... waking up, telling Haruomi he was late, and then later on, wondering if he'd imagined the phantom warmth... Not Haruomi, as he had thought at first because it had _felt_ so much like Haruomi. Of course they would feel the same—of course.

Kiichi wanted to laugh, he wanted nestle even closer to Tien Li and just laugh into his skin, laughing and laughing until he couldn't stand it anymore. Until he had no choice but to pull Tien Li down and kiss him, soft and hungry and sweet, like that time many years ago.

Instead, he buried his face into Tien Li's neck, pressing his lips against the smooth skin, warm despite the night chill. Surrounded by Tien Li's taste and scent, he murmured, "Thank you."

He felt Tien Li shiver, felt the arms around him tighten, and knew what it meant—_don't need to thank me, you saved my life first, I promised I would protect you. _

_You were the only one who never left._

There were many things left unsaid, but Kiichi could read them all in the careful way Tien Li held him and in the silence that hung between them.

When they finally reached the car, Tien Li set Kiichi in the passenger side slowly and reluctantly, before he closed the door and got in the driver's seat. Kiichi leaned back with his eyes still closed, keenly missing Tien Li's warmth as his skin came in contact with the cold leather upholstery. He barely suppressed a shiver, but he didn't bother to deny the small pang of disappointment. Tired and sleepy, he wanted to ask if Tien Li was going to be there when he woke up, unlike last time when he'd disappeared without any visible trace. He wanted to tell Tien Li to stay, to see Haruomi one more time—but he couldn't.

Kiichi knew he was drifting away, knew that the blood loss had finally taken its toll and the pain that had been swept away by the adrenaline was finally making its presence known. He knew the words he wanted to say—could almost taste them—but he was exhausted and torn between wanting to sleep and wanting to stay awake. If he stayed awake, then he would have to watch Tien Li leave, knowing that he couldn't stop him before Haruomi turned up. If he was asleep, then he would wake up with Haruomi by his side, and Tien Li gone with only the faint traces of his warmth on Kiichi's skin.

In the end, Kiichi didn't decide—his body decided for him. He slipped into unconsciousness, Tien Li's name on his lips, the memory of his scent in his mind, and the uneasy feeling that he would never see Tien Li again. A warm hand stroked his cheek and smoothed out his frown, and Kiichi sighed, relaxing and turning to lightly nuzzle a callused palm before drifting further into oblivion.

Eventually, the lingering touch disappeared and the car engine started to rumble, but Kiichi wasn't awake to notice. 


End file.
